November, Christmas and new blogging software

November passed by quickly, but I have to say I’m so grateful to everybody who took part in NaBloPoMo. It was so nice to hear from people who tend to space posts further apart, it was a welcome distraction from the gathering cold and darkness and I adore the smaller mostly unplanned posts as they tend to share a slightly more intimate glimpse into life.

I’m in the midst of installing a new blogging system, I’ve only ever used the same Blogger account since 1999(!), and the job is a doozy. I would have given up long ago if it weren’t for the very patient superhero I so conveniently cohabitate with. I’m nearly ready to switch over, and when that time comes I will have comments, hopefully to the joy of those who remember when I had them in the distant past.

Leslie is planning on doing an advent calendar again this year (yay!) but she needs some help as is asking for personal stories: “What’s the weirdest/ silliest/ most unusual / funniest Christmas (or whatever religion specific or non religious holiday – Channukuh, Solstice, Kwaanza, winter break, etc. All are welcome…) tradition at your house? At ours, it’s an unusual comic taco making ceremony we refer to as “the Nativity Taco”. Do you have a funny Christmas story your family can’t stop telling (or you hope they never figure out?) If you’d be so kind to tell me your stories with as much detail as you can muster, I’d love to include them in this year’s calendar.” If you’ve got something here is how to get in touch.

And this weekend I couldn’t help but procrastinate from the blogging software install to make my very own store at Amazon. Ok, so it’s really more of a list, but it was fun choosing the things I really like or really want. If you’ve used up all your gift picking mojo take a look, hopefully it will give you some ideas. On thing I know for sure, everybody you know who cooks deserves a Baker’s Edge Pan for the holidays:

Read more about it here, and you can find recipes, including lasagna that doesn’t get dried corners and doesn’t slide all over the place when you are serving it. I really admire the amount of thought that went into the design of this pan, the handles are placed so that they are not flush with the counter when you flip the pan over, making it much easier to lift back up. I first saw this pan at Brownie Points and Chocolate and Zucchini.